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The New Venezuela
APRIL 2006
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Fueling the Revolution
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Thousands of oil wells dot Lake Maracaibo (top left), and the bulk of Venezuela's petroleum exports pass through its channel to the sea. Production of roughly three million barrels of oil a day nationwide generates about half the government's annual revenue—the primary source of funding for the Chávez social agenda.
Venezuela is the world's fifth largest oil exporter. Its proven reserves of 77 billion barrels top those of the U.S., Canada, and Mexico combined. But despite frosty political relations, the U.S. remains Chávez's major customer, with more than 10 percent of its annual oil imports coming from Venezuela.
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